ONE of the main routes across the North York Moors will be closed for the next fortnight while a £250,000 programme of essential work is carried out at Sutton Bank near Thirsk.

The bank carries the A170 up an extreme gradient, and North Yorkshire County Council says extra maintenance work is needed to ensure the bank can cope with the winter weather which involves creating an embankment, reinstating crash barriers and repairing the carriageway.

Sutton Bank closed today, (Monday September 7), and is due to reopen on Monday September 21. Further work will be carried out requiring one side of the road being closed for a further six weeks with traffic controlled lights.

Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways said: "As well as carrying out the annual maintenance programme, we are taking this opportunity to carry out further works which have become necessary. It's impossible to do this without closing the road, and then controlling traffic by lights, but as always everything will be done to complete the programme as quickly as possible so as to minimise inconvenience.”

Traffic will be diverted along the "caravan route" through Coxwold and Ampleforth.